Wednesday, March 26, 2014

I started giving food to my baby girl on her 6th month, as per pediatrician's advice. The first food I gave her were fruits like grape and banana, fed using a baby fresh food feeder. Later on, I tried giving finely mashed squash and banana. Actually, I was close to buying pureed fruits and vegetables that were sold in tiny jars at groceries when I realized how expensive and completely impractical they are when I can easily make them myself. Enter this baby food making project for my little tot.

Easy Baby Food Recipe
You don't need an expensive baby food maker in order to do this one. All you need is a knife, a steamer and blender. Hooray for healthy homemade baby food. I totally saved money from doing this!

3. Puree your chosen vegetable or crop one by one using a blender, adding a little amount of distilled or boiled water, until the desired texture. For variation, you may combine two or more vegetables like what I did here. The first photo is broccoli + potato. The second one is broccoli + carrot.

Tip #2. Transfer your baby food into tiny sterile containers and freeze so you can only take out and thaw enough amount for you baby each feeding time.

Tip #3. Be careful of choosing vegetable or crops that your baby might be allergic with. Best to consult your pediatrician before starting solids

My baby is already 7 months now. At her age, she had eaten breads, yogurt, rice and oranges other than those mentioned above, prepared through a blender. During our last visit to her doctor, we were advised that she can already take finely chopped meat but we are delaying that until next month. So far, she has improved in swallowing solids as well as drinking liquids from a cup.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Our Saturday was a fun-filled day at the first world-class Science museum in the Philippines located in BGC or Taguig City. It has been two years of exploration for The Mind Museum and in line with its anniversary celebration, they launched their exhibits and educational programs for the year 2014 in the presence of bloggers and media.

It was my first time to tour around this museum together with my entire family. I remember visiting the vicinity before, however I never been inside the premises of the building where there is an outstanding display of objects of scientific relevance. So glad I accepted the invitation to the this event 'cause the experience was all worth it.

The Mind Museum's Maria Isabel Garcia (left), Curator, and Manuel Blas II, Managing Director, as they open the program and welcome members of the media and their families and other visitors

This is my elder daughter meeting T-Rex. Look, she's so artista! Mr. Blas mentioned that T-Rex is the only imported figure at the museum, most parts of the exhibits were build by locals.

I took a lot of random photos at the museum and here is a collage of some very interesting ones. I supposed I shouldn't upload everything here so you guys get curios and go see them yourself.

This is a shot of a corner at the second floor. The museum is actually bigger than I thought and WAY better than the one we saw in SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

My kiddos and I say Happy Anniversary The Mind Museum! :)

***

Two Years of Wide-Eyed Wonderment

Over half a million people have come away inspired after visiting The Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City since its launch in 2012. Many of them are Filipino families and students, both from private and public schools, all of which have witnessed science and nature roaming, talking, exploding, and flying, be it thru the exhibits, or the museum’s educational programs. The Mind Museum, a non-profit organization of the Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc., takes pride in being a museum designed by Filipinos for Filipinos, as it reaches out to the world to contribute to the public understanding of science.

The world has reached out to The Mind Museum too, setting it apart from other learning destinations, with the accolades garnered within its two years of existence. For one thing, the museum has earned a GOLD LEED certification from the US Green Building Council for being a paragon of modern, environmentally-sustainable architecture.

The Mind Museum’s most recent honor is an award dubbed as the “Oscars” of the themed entertainment industry around the world. The THEA Award given by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) for this year’s “Outstanding Achievement,” cites that the museum “expands science into a fully experiential world,” and that “the thematic thread and artistic treatments throughout is what makes this project extraordinary by any standards”. Awardees include the Disney Parks, Cirque du Soleil and Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay. This is a proud moment for the Philippines for having the first science museum in Asia to receive such recognition in the entire 20-year history of the TEA.

In these two years, The Museum has also hosted fantastic and beautiful travelling exhibitions from around the world like Da Vinci–The Genius in 2013, and Biorhythm from Ireland in 2012. It is also an institutional partner of the World Science Festival and the California Academy of Sciences.

The journey never ends. The Mind Museum constantly evolves by coming up with new ways on how to present science. This year, patrons can expect more awesome exhibits, shows and activities presented in a whole new level. For instance, one can now catch three planetarium shows, the newest being “Back to the Moon for Good”, narrated by actor Tim Allen. The stunning visuals and compelling narrative highlights the history of exploring the moon, and an inside look into the teams vying for the US$30 million Google Lunar XPrize, the largest incentivized prize in history. The Mind Museum premiered the show last February, alongside select planetariums around the world that are authorized to feature it.

By end of April, a portion of the museum’s second floor will be housing a special exhibition for a limited run. Launched in Singapore last 2013, “The Apocalypse Project – Imagined Futures” explores possible creative lifestyles under climate change. One area will display Climate Change Couture for the future.

Choose from a list of unique and really awesome summer programs! There's Crime Scene Investigation 101 where kids can learn how to gather & analyze evidence from a crime scene. Another is the Junior Mind Mover Program which will expose young minds to the work of scientists in museums, from creative science communication to demonstrating experiments; or the Marine Science Camp, where marine biologists from the California Academy of Sciences take the explorers to a closer underwater look into the coral reefs of Anilao, Batangas! There’s also Soccer Science, a soccer game training and a science workshop rolled in to one.

There are also the staple features such as monthly science parties called “MindBursts”, and free science conversations with rock star scientists from here and all over in “Cafe Scientifique”.

One thing’s for sure. There’s always something new and exciting waiting around the corner at The Mind Museum.

***

Boy, it's been a long while since my last blogger event. You know, I took a break after getting pregnant and giving birth to my baby girl. Motherhood is such a wonderful thing that I always make sure I don't miss every single stage of it. Hence, I stopped accepting event invites and slowed down a little in blogging. As of now, I exclusively breastfeed my little baby and still manage to run the household, from grocery, cooking to laundry. I decided I will only accept family-friendly events on weekends, when my husband is free to drive me and the kids, and when the location is not too far away.

Anyway, I am planning to visit The Mind Museum again this April and will take Auntie Jo, my dear aunt from the province who is also a Science teacher, with me. I am sure it's gonna be fun and she will enjoy it a lot. Perhaps she can manage a tour for her students next time. We'll see.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

One of my relatives, my mother's cousin, had down syndrome. He already passed away but I remember him today with the Dear Future Mom campaign.

A scared mom-to-be wrote this message to CoorDown (Coordinator of the National Association of People with Down Syndrome), "I'm expecting a baby. I've discovered he has Down syndrome. What kind of life will my child have?"

The organization, in collaboration with Saatchi & Saatchi Italy, responded by creating this campaign:

The World Down Syndrome Day is taking place on March 21, 2014.

Help spreading the important message behind Dear Future Mom to help advocate the right to happiness and well-being of people with Down syndrome.

The official hashtag for this campaign is #DearFutureMom. Go share now!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

More or less 5 months after giving birth to my little darling here, my hair started to be brittle and fall. I've had long hair for the longest time, the last I remember having short bob hair was in 2004, then I grew it back. Anyway, I had my long locks chopped before New Year, the falling lessened not because I cut it, but I think because I already had enough falling hair, so I can see fine new hair growing now. I was supposed to get a hair rebond again, or else Brazilian blowout. However, looks like my hair isn't ready for it yet. In the meantime, I will continue growing my hair, not washing it everyday to avoid breakage and loss, but maintain it with the help of a smoothing cream.

This is what I use to tame my rebellious hair-- L'Oreal Liss Unlimited Keartinoil Complex.

Here's the before and after photos using the said product. Oppss, excuse those eyebags! :P

What I like a lot about L'Oreal Liss Unlimited is its ability to smooth my hair without making it feel too heavy. To use L'Oreal Liss Unlimited, I first wash my hair and condition it, blow dry it to achieve volume, then apply a pea-size cream to the surface to smooth out those tikwas.
The only thing which I do not like about L'Oreal Liss Unlimited is how sticky or oily it is on my hands. The residue is kind of hard to wash after application. Anyway, that's the remedy to that issue, you just have to wash it well. No more problem other than that though, so I continue using it.

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

I saw Marian Rivera wearing this beautiful white and peach striped dress in her IG account (Yes, I follow her because she's so pretty like a doll) and I was like.. gorgeous! Then, browsing my IG again today, I saw this photo of Mariel Rodriguez wearing the same tube dress. I don't know from which brand they bought this dress or who is the designer behind it but it is very beautiful.

Hmm.. does it look like they have the same stylist or they shop at the same wholesale clothing store? Who do you think wears the pink dress better? Why? Comment your vote below! :)

Source of Photos:http://instagram.com/mauiefloreshttp://instagram.com/therealmarian

I thought I'd date my elder daughter that day after I went out for dinner with hubby the previous night. We didn't go very far but to this newly-opened doughnut shop called Scarsdale Artisanal Delights. Aside from doughnuts, Scarsdale also sells croughnuts, gourmet Sandwiches, coffees, cocktails, and a lot more. It is located within the S & R compound along Shaw Blvd, facing Project Pie and Starbucks Shaw. I've heard that their chocolate doughnut which name is 'the best chocolate doughnut in town' is a winner so off we went and check if the claim is true.

This is the view of the counter at the first floor of Scarsdale.

What we bought were salted caramel croughnut (P100), Scarsdale classic (P40) and the best chocolate doughnut in town (P55).

Some random photos taken at the store..

My daughter and I in our afternoon snack/date..

We love our first visit at Scarsdale. The place has a bright ambiance, neat because it's new and their doughnuts taste very good. The claim about having the best chocolate doughnut is indeed true. Though a bit pricey than other doughnut stores I know, I will still definitely go back to Scarsdale and try their sandwiches.

Oh, they gave me a free doughnut and coffee after showing them my S & R membership card. Sheesh, I forgot to tell them not need to serve me coffee anymore 'cause I am not a coffee-drinker. The last time I drank coffee was in Istanbul, served by my mother-in-law's neighbor. I remember finishing a cup of sweet coffee with fresh milk. The taste of it lingered in my mouth for, let say 5 minutes, however the acidity it gave me lasted the whole day. Never again.

Do you love coffee? Have you been to Scarsdale? What's your favorite doughnut or croughnut?